Politics and Film: The Political Culture of Film in the United States - Softcover

Franklin, Daniel P.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0742538095 ISBN 13: 9780742538092

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2006

Synopsis

Politics and Film explores the meaning of film within a societal context. In examining the political role of films we become real time cultural anthropologists, sifting through the artifacts of modern society to determine what our culture really is all about. Common sense tells us that if filmmakers want to make a profit, they have to be responsive to the market. This doesn't mean that they have to produce a product that simply delights the eyes. Films must also please the mind, and not just in terms of satisfying our desire to be entertained (although that alone is sometimes enough) but also deepen our understanding of people, ideas, and problems that we may confront in everyday life. In this respect, even commercial films are political. And, if _we are what we eat,_ we may also say, _we are what we pay to see._ This book contends that to a large extent American film reflects political culture in American society.

About this title

Review

It has become practically a national pastime to criticize Hollywood movies for their sex, violence, and ultra-liberal politics. But why are films like that? In this book Daniel Franklin enters the scholarly controversy about the sources of American film content. His conclusion, vigorously argued, is that film-makers are simply acting as good capitalists and responding to the audience. Because filmgoers are more secular and liberal than the population as a whole, films are more secular and liberal than they would otherwise be.--David Prindle, University of Texas, Austin

Students, citizens, and scholars are increasingly aware that films' stories and metaphors--'American Tales, ' if you will--influence our perception of politics. Daniel Franklin's Politics and Film is a welcome contribution to our ongoing conversation about the evolving relationship between entertainment, art, commerce, and politics--and how this in turn affects the shape, style, and bias of our political attitudes and collective memory. Those who wish to connect the dots between the reel world of Hollywood and the real world of American political culture will find some serious food for thought in this engaging, entertaining book.--Kevan M. Yenerall, Clarion University and co-author, Seeing the Bigger Picture: Understanding Politics Through Film and Television

About the Author

Daniel P. Franklin is associate professor of political science at Georgia State University in Atlanta, Georgia. He is the author of Making Ends Meet: Congressional Budgeting in the Age of Deficits and Extraordinary Measures: The Exercise of Prerogative Powers in the United States and is coeditor of Political Culture and Constitutionalism: A Comparative Approach. He teaches courses on American government, politics of the presidency, and politics and film.

About this edition

• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0742538095
• ISBN 13: 9780742538092
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 234